Interchangeable toothbrush



March 21, 1933. H. G; L. LEMOINE- 1,902,410

INTERCHANGEABLE TooTHBRUsH Filed March 12, 1930 Patented Mar. 21, 1933 Unirse STATES .R A51-ENT OFFICE HENRY GUIDO L'oN LEMOIN, or gnanrnRs-sun-ANDELLE, Farmen.

INTERGHANGEABLE. :poo'rHBnUsH Application led March 12, 1930, Serial No. 435,395, and ,in France kApril 26, 1329.

r)both-brushes in which the brush itself is interchangeable are well known. The perforated plate of the tooth-brush is generally made of bone or ivory and the frame which carries it is mostly made of metal and is bottomless. The locking of the brush is produced by means of a stop provided upon the screwthreaded handle which is screwed to the brush supporting frame or cradle. This kind of frame and the mode of assembling just described have the inconvenience of making the use of ivory and moulded substances to constitute the frame, absolutely impossible as the latter must then be very thick.

My invention has for its object improvements in tooth brushes which are designed to avoid this inconvenience and to allow the use of ivory and any other precious substances for constituting a brush carrier which is made in o-ne piece. To this end the brush supporting cradle is provided with a solid bottom presenting an inclined surface relatively to said bottom part, that is to say of conical shape when the end of the brush is rounded and against which the end of the plate also of conical shape engages, whilst the other end is locked automatically or not. It may also be secured by means of a self acting bolt.

Another characteristic of my invention consists in that the movable point is not made in one with the brush handle, as in the case in known devices, but is formed at the end of a shank which extends through the handle and is provided at its other end with a screwthreaded portion and a head constituting in a certain manner a cap for the handle.

Said shank is provided with a wide screwthreaded portion which allows the almost instantaneous locking and unlocking of the brush.

A third characteristic of my invention is that the handle which is removable is screwed upon a hollow spindle which passes freely through the frame and is provided at the end opposite to that where the said handle is screwed, with a stop which is drawn against the back wall of the brush frame when the handle is screwed in position. Consequently the ivory frame is not screwthreaded and all danger of wear, play or damage isavoided. Moreover a plastic Vmetal fitting is interposed between the two opposite surfaces of the frame `and of the handle so that however tightly the parts may be locked tcgather theivory.. is not damaged.

The appended drawing shows by way of example various modes of execution of an improved tooth brush made according to my invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 are part longitudinal sectional views of a modified type of toothbrush with removable handle.

Fig. 3 is a part longitudinal view on a smaller scale of the whole of the tooth-brush. 65

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the needle provided with a head or operating knob.

In Figs. 1 to 4 the hollow removable handle 11 is screwed upon a screwthreaded shank 12 freely engaged in the smooth bore 13 of the 70 brush supporting cradle 14 its head 12l abutting against the back wall of saidV cradle. Any damage to the ivory caused by the parts being too tightly clamped together is prevented by means of a plastic metal fitting 15 75 placed between the end face of the handle and of the cradle foot 14?.

.The shank 12 is advantageously provided w1th a crescent shaped head 12a and when it is drawn back by the handle it adapts itself B0 in a suitable recess in the bottom of the cradle. Said shank 12 is hollow and contains the spindle 16 of the needle 16a which also eX- tends through the handle from one endto the y other and is provided with a screwthreaded 4S5 portion 16b ending in a knob 16c in the shape of a cap milled at 16d. Said cap-knob which covers partially the outer end of the handle allows of operating the needle for locking and unlocking the brush 3.

The handle and the needle which is made in one piece with its operating knob are made preferably of light metals such as pressedcast duralumine. c

What l claim and desire to secure by 9'5 Letters Patent of the United States is:

A tooth brush comprising a chambered head, flanges forming the chamber in said head, a bristle carrying plate disposed in the chamber of the head and engaging the flanges,

one end flange of said chambered head being undercut to form a recess, and one end of said bristle plate engaging in said recess, the other end thereof being provided with a recess, a handle carried by the head, a reinforcing sleeve Within the handle and terminating in the inner end of the chamber, an arcuate member carried by said sleeve and engaging said other end of the bristle carrying plate, said handle being formed in two pieces, said sleeve being threaded through both portions of the handle, a rotatable shaft extending through the sleeve and into said recess in the end of the bristle carrying plate, a handle member carried by said shaft and rotatably mounted on the rear end of the brush handle, said shaft being threaded into the rear end of the brush handle. i

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name.

HENRY GUIDO LEON LEMOINE. 

